.358 bullet suggestions?

[rkr]

I'm about to start a new .358 gun project and I would like some suggestions for bullet/mold to purchase. Max length of bullet is 0.590" to fit the magazine and the gun should make around 210-220 fpe so something in the 110-135 grain range would be good. It's Korean barrel with 20" twist. Any suggestions for bullets that work up to 100M?

[BSJ]

I've made a heck of a lot of good bullets, in a hurry, with the https://leeprecision.com/6-cav-358-125-rf.html

They shoot well in my Kel-Tec Sub-2000.

[SAGERAT NITEMARE]

Accurate Molds has a very nice catalog of listings for bullets with lengths, OD's, shapes and pictures so you can pick out one you like OR modify it OR design your own from the ground up...I've used Toms molds for a lot of years in my PG's in cals from 30 to 45...Alum, brass or steel...36-124 and 36-126 are nice looking ones and making the  nose profile more spitzer shaped will increase the BC.

Mountain Molds has an online bullet design feature that you can design your own within certain parameters...

NOE, of course can do the same and I will second Lee...I've used all but the NOE molds, in Alum, and once I LEARNED HOW to cast/work the molds I had no trouble casting very accurate bullets (once I learned how each mold liked its heat.)

Midway and some other online shooting supply sources have bullets you can check out as do several online bullet casting supply places...you might find a bullet that "fits your pistol" and have a mold made to those specs... 

You are going to need some speed to achieve the FPE you want with those light bullets, something like 850 fs for a 135 gr or 1000 fs with a 100 gr...I'm guessing you already know this.  My Hercules is only putting out ≈750 fs AT 40 yds for ≈118 FPE. 

I just checked out a comparison between the Ataman MR2 and the Texan in .357 you might find interesting...comparing different barrel lengths and velo's.

Good Luck

[Habanero69er]

Rick Morrill has an eBay site. I asked about .358 slugs. He replied:
"I do,, the 82.5 g HP's are 359 ,, 105 g swc is 358 130rf is 358 147 g swc is 158 my buddy had a recluse and the 82.5 Hps did well out of his."

https://www.ebay.com/usr/ricmor_hv3fazc3?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2754

[SAGERAT NITEMARE]

Rick's 97 gr Diabolos do well in my Hercules and there are MANY 35 cal bullets available outside of casting your own.

Good Luck on your project.

[rkr]

Accurate Molds has a very nice catalog of listings for bullets with lengths, OD's, shapes and pictures so you can pick out one you like OR modify it OR design your own from the ground up...I've used Toms molds for a lot of years in my PG's in cals from 30 to 45...Alum, brass or steel...36-124 and 36-126 are nice looking ones and making the  nose profile more spitzer shaped will increase the BC.

Mountain Molds has an online bullet design feature that you can design your own within certain parameters...

NOE, of course can do the same and I will second Lee...I've used all but the NOE molds, in Alum, and once I LEARNED HOW to cast/work the molds I had no trouble casting very accurate bullets (once I learned how each mold liked its heat.)

Midway and some other online shooting supply sources have bullets you can check out as do several online bullet casting supply places...you might find a bullet that "fits your pistol" and have a mold made to those specs... 

You are going to need some speed to achieve the FPE you want with those light bullets, something like 850 fs for a 135 gr or 1000 fs with a 100 gr...I'm guessing you already know this.  My Hercules is only putting out ≈750 fs AT 40 yds for ≈118 FPE. 

I just checked out a comparison between the Ataman MR2 and the Texan in .357 you might find interesting...comparing different barrel lengths and velo's.

Good Luck

I had that barrel shooting at 210 fpe in my RS2 with 109 grainers and it's going in to Sniper X2 that does 300fpe in .45. Sadly the .45 barrel is total &^^& and I can't get a replacement so I'll convert the gun to .358.

That 125 grain Lee is looking rather good,I'm just wondering why the BC is listed only at .116 while bullets like http://noebulletmolds.com/NV/product_info.php?cPath=34_257&products_id=92 have 0.19 BC? There's not that much difference in between those bullets. This one from Arsenal also looks rather good http://arsenalmolds.com/products?product_id=50

[BSJ]

I dunno about the BC. Maybe they are just being conservative.

If you get the six cavity mold be sure to have a good supply of alloy on hand. A 10 lb. pot empties pretty quick! Gave me a reason to upgrade to a 20 lb. one.

The sprue cutter lever works well too. It's a nice feature...

[SAGERAT NITEMARE]

BC's out in the 2nd or 3rd decimal place are just "visual candy" and hardly count unless your ES is down in the <5 fs place...it's just "talking heads", theoretical and mostly hot air...NOT TO DISS ANY ONE...all you have to do is calculate or better still actually shoot and find out the velo and drop over a specified/arbitrary distance with a specific pellet to see "what the hey and why"...if any.  At AG gun velos and distances keep your tenth digital micrometer/caliper handy...but I guarantee it will cause a whole lot of dust-ups when getting into 1000 yd PG shooting and DOES MAKE a bit of difference there.

There are several ways to calculate/obtain a bullets BC...stretching the veracity of the situation is one of them and that happens all the time so I've never really paid all that much attention to what the bullet makers say....IF you want to see what the real scooby is take a look at Sierra's reloading manual...at one time it had THREE DIFFERENT BC's for the same bullet for THREE DIFFERENT VELOCITIES...so take a BC number with a BIG piece of rock salt.  It also depends a great deal WHICH "G" function is used to calculate the number...LOTTSA finagling going on there.

Not trying to talk anyone into or out of anything or start a how-haa...maybe in your gun with a specific pellet it will have a discernible effect..the ONLY way to know for sure is to shoot a lot of targets and tabulate the results...AS ALWAYS...the proof is in the details and the DOING.

The MAIN OBJECT in this game is to find a bullet/pellet that fits YOUR criteria and enjoy it...which is a trial and tribulation that WE ALL have to face sometime.   Hahahahaha

Good Luck


 

[VaporTrail]

Speaking of trials and tribulations...I've tried a bunch of Rick Morril ammo in my Winchester 35. So far none of them have shot to my liking. I've tried FT HPs, BT HPs, SWCs, EPP/UGs and meplat diabolos. My girl does not like any of them. The 84gr meplats were showing some promise, but over this last weekend they decided to swim against the current and give me some rather questionable groups. 

I'll give them one more chance this weekend. If they don't play well together, then I'll probably have to sell them.

[rkr]

Speaking of trials and tribulations...I've tried a bunch of Rick Morril ammo in my Winchester 35. So far none of them have shot to my liking. I've tried FT HPs, BT HPs, SWCs, EPP/UGs and meplat diabolos. My girl does not like any of them. The 84gr meplats were showing some promise, but over this last weekend they decided to swim against the current and give me some rather questionable groups. 

I'll give them one more chance this weekend. If they don't play well together, then I'll probably have to sell them.

What size are those bullets and what size does your barrel slug at? I ordered the Lee 125 grain mold, that's actually my first Lee mold so it will be interesting to see how it compares to Arsenal and other molds that are twice the price.

[Bob Pratl]

I ordered the Lee 125 grain mold, that's actually my first Lee mold so it will be interesting to see how it compares to Arsenal and other molds that are twice the price.

I have a lot of LEE molds to include the 358-125 & 356-125 and they work great for the money, They are not as pretty as the NOE molds. I always resize so I'm not concerned on what size they drop.

[D-RIG]

This is one of the better 9mm slugs that I've found

https://www.mp-molds.com/product/mp-359-125-hp-pb-4-cav/ 

[Bob Pratl]

This is one of the better 9mm slugs that I've found
https://www.mp-molds.com/product/mp-359-125-hp-pb-4-cav/ 

MP makes great molds and my best 45 mold is a MP 4 cavity brass mold. I may pick up the 359-125 MP mold.

[Sbak]

I've got most of the .357 molds available in the 110-140gr range. TJ's barrel 1:26 slugged at .3575 bullets sized to .3577 @225fpe. These two are the most accurate I've found

http://noebulletmolds.com/NV/product_info.php?cPath=34_256&products_id=2020

If you have a tight enough bore I'd also give this one a try

http://noebulletmolds.com/NV/product_info.php?cPath=34_264&products_id=2087



http://www.accuratemolds.com/bullet_detail.php?bullet=35-135AG-D.png

[rkr]

This is one of the better 9mm slugs that I've found

https://www.mp-molds.com/product/mp-359-125-hp-pb-4-cav/ 

That one looks really good, I may give it a go if the Lee mold doesn't work out. I ordered the mold over a week ago and still no shipping notification.

[rkr]

I've got most of the .357 molds available in the 110-140gr range. TJ's barrel 1:26 slugged at .3575 bullets sized to .3577 @225fpe. These two are the most accurate I've found

http://noebulletmolds.com/NV/product_info.php?cPath=34_256&products_id=2020

If you have a tight enough bore I'd also give this one a try

http://noebulletmolds.com/NV/product_info.php?cPath=34_264&products_id=2087



http://www.accuratemolds.com/bullet_detail.php?bullet=35-135AG-D.png

Thanks! Those bullets are a bit on the heavy side so I'll have to see if I can get enough power from the gun to use 135 grainers. .357 is too small as the barrel slugs at 0.3575.

[maraudinglizard]

Here is another option for molds, you can design your own slug. I have one of their molds that I designed for the Carnivore which didn't do well in the gun but it did great in the Rex P and Recluse. It just depends on what the gun likes, trial and error until you find the right one. Just go to the drop down for online design and chose the caliber you want.

http://www.mountainmolds.com/

[Back_Roads]

 I just finished crony testing on this mold out of my recluse, even though 10 gr heavier, it keeps the same FPS as a 10 + gr lighter bullets I have tested, accuracy looks promising, will test that asap weather/ work being the main hurdles.
http://noebulletmolds.com/NV/product_info.php?cPath=35_527&products_id=4746

 PS testing was done unsized, snug fit lets no hp air past it IMO. Crono testing was indoors with the quiet help of an LDC recently purchased on GTA.

[VaporTrail]

Speaking of trials and tribulations...I've tried a bunch of Rick Morril ammo in my Winchester 35. So far none of them have shot to my liking. I've tried FT HPs, BT HPs, SWCs, EPP/UGs and meplat diabolos. My girl does not like any of them. The 84gr meplats were showing some promise, but over this last weekend they decided to swim against the current and give me some rather questionable groups. 

I'll give them one more chance this weekend. If they don't play well together, then I'll probably have to sell them.

What size are those bullets and what size does your barrel slug at? I ordered the Lee 125 grain mold, that's actually my first Lee mold so it will be interesting to see how it compares to Arsenal and other molds that are twice the price.

Sorry for the late reply, rkr. I haven't mic'd those bullets yet, nor do I know what the barrel size is. I haven't touched the HS on the Winchester...it's shooting pretty nice as it is right now and I didn't want to take the chance messing with turns on it. I guess maybe if I put the HS down to 2 turns preload it should throw out the JSB fairly intact. Maybe into a bucket of water?

Speaking of turns, is it CCW to increase power and CW to lessen? Do I need to do anything special to adjust the HS?

If you'd like, I can mic all the variations of slugs/pellets over the weekend.

[rkr]

Speaking of trials and tribulations...I've tried a bunch of Rick Morril ammo in my Winchester 35. So far none of them have shot to my liking. I've tried FT HPs, BT HPs, SWCs, EPP/UGs and meplat diabolos. My girl does not like any of them. The 84gr meplats were showing some promise, but over this last weekend they decided to swim against the current and give me some rather questionable groups. 

I'll give them one more chance this weekend. If they don't play well together, then I'll probably have to sell them.

What size are those bullets and what size does your barrel slug at? I ordered the Lee 125 grain mold, that's actually my first Lee mold so it will be interesting to see how it compares to Arsenal and other molds that are twice the price.

Sorry for the late reply, rkr. I haven't mic'd those bullets yet, nor do I know what the barrel size is. I haven't touched the HS on the Winchester...it's shooting pretty nice as it is right now and I didn't want to take the chance messing with turns on it. I guess maybe if I put the HS down to 2 turns preload it should throw out the JSB fairly intact. Maybe into a bucket of water?

Speaking of turns, is it CCW to increase power and CW to lessen? Do I need to do anything special to adjust the HS?

If you'd like, I can mic all the variations of slugs/pellets over the weekend.

You need a big flat head screwdriver to adjust. CW increases spring tension and power. to properly slug your barrel you need to take it off and use an oversize slug that you tap through. Oversize slug can be made from normal slug by tapping it a bit shorter with a hammer. Barrel comes off when you remove the two screws at the top of the breech and unscrew the shroud. No need to mic those slugs for me, I'll be playing with that Lee mold next.